Chapter – 12
“Th-that…”
Cedric began to stutter with a very flustered face. Normally, even in front of the Emperor, he rarely lost his composure.
“If I had not been here, and she had died…”
The moment Bayern imagined Rafine dying, it became hard for him to breathe.
Her not existing.
Just imagining it felt like someone was tearing his heart apart.
He already knew Cedric had never treated Rafine with care.
But he kept thinking—how could someone possibly fall from the top of a tower like that?
Suppressing his anger, Bayern quietly looked down at Rafine. Seeing her lying in his arms with her eyes closed made him feel bitter.
The only reason he had tolerated Cedric until now was one thing.
Because Rafine loved him.
But if that was no longer the case, Bayern had no reason to overlook Cedric anymore.
“Hm? I asked why your fiancée fell.”
Hearing Bayern’s cold voice, Cedric quickly fixed his expression. It seemed he had regained some of his composure.
“Why can’t you answer? Did you push her?”
“That is not true.”
Cedric immediately denied the Emperor’s words. His face looked as if Rafine falling had nothing to do with him.
At the same time, he could not understand why the Emperor was acting so familiar with Rafine.
And more than that—
The Emperor was holding her as if she were something precious.
Normally, he hated even the slightest contact with others, even from the captain of the imperial guard.
Something felt strange.
But Cedric could not allow the Emperor to find any weakness in him. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. This situation was something he had never experienced before.
The Emperor being here at all was hard to understand.
But one thing was clear.
Even if it had been an accident, if it was revealed that Rafine fell because he pushed her, it could cause serious trouble.
So he decided to shift the blame to Rafine.
He changed his expression and slightly lifted the corners of his lips, pretending to look relaxed.
After all, only three people knew what had happened at the top of the tower: himself, Rafine, and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth would never reveal the truth.
And Rafine?
She was unconscious. And today the Emperor happened to be here by chance. What were the chances Rafine would meet the Emperor again?
“So what happened?”
The Emperor still waited for an answer, his eyes cold.
Under that pressure, Elizabeth trembled behind Cedric without even remembering to show proper respect to the Emperor.
“Well…”
“Well?”
“It is difficult for me to say, because I do not want to reveal my fiancée’s shame.”
Everyone present quietly swallowed at Cedric’s words.
“Still, we should hear it. Someone almost died.”
But Bayern did not step back.
Cedric then made a sorrowful expression and finally spoke.
“She told me to love her. She said if I didn’t, she would jump. I never thought she would actually do it.”
Cedric said it without even blinking.
His lie sounded so convincing that no one there suspected it.
The nobles exchanged looks, thinking their earlier guesses had been correct.
But Bayern did not believe a word.
A woman who had just asked him for help to break her engagement would never make such a threat.
The Emperor smiled lazily and asked again.
“Really? That’s strange. When I met her earlier, she said she wanted to break off the engagement with you.”
Bayern explained what had happened before she went up the tower.
Cedric calmly smiled and answered as if slightly embarrassed.
“She said that because she wanted my attention. It seems she wanted to use breaking the engagement as a strong move.”
Cedric spoke so convincingly that Bayern almost laughed.
He could speak like that only because he did not know that Rafine and the Emperor had grown up together.
Bayern stopped arguing with him.
There was no point arguing with a man like that.
“But didn’t you say you would attend the tea party with your fiancée? Was that a lie as well?”
“……”
Only then did Cedric fall silent.
Finally, unable to watch any longer, the Marquis stepped forward.
“Y-Your Majesty. I appreciate that you are considering my daughter’s situation…”
Since earlier, the Marquis had been bothered by the way the Emperor held Rafine as if he would never let her go.
“But it seems she has caused great disrespect to Your Majesty. If you would allow it, I would like to take my daughter home.”
The Marquis approached the Emperor to take Rafine from his arms.
But Bayern shook his head.
“No.”
“Pardon?”
The Marquis looked confused when the Emperor refused to hand Rafine over.
To Bayern, the Marquis himself seemed unreliable.
Rafine had never said anything directly, but Bayern had always felt that her family did not treat her properly.
He looked at the Marquis for a moment before speaking again.
“I will take her myself.”
“What?”
The Marquis’ mouth opened in shock.
Ignoring him, the Emperor slowly began to walk.
“And when she wakes up, we should hear her side of the story.”
The surroundings stirred with whispers again.
A groan escaped from Rafine’s lips first.
“Ugh…”
Her entire body felt sore.
As if she had been beaten everywhere, there was not a single part that felt normal. Rafine slowly opened her eyes with discomfort.
Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy, as if someone had placed stones on them.
“Mm…”
Another groan escaped.
Rafine blinked slowly several times.
Her blurry vision gradually became clear.
The flashing lights slowly formed shapes.
“Ugh…”
She slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed.
Then she quietly looked around.
“……”
Of course.
She did not know how long she had been unconscious, but just as expected, there was no one there taking care of her.
She had not expected anyone to be there, but it still made her chest feel bitter.
She had fallen from a tower and miraculously survived, yet it felt as if no one actually wished for her survival.
That thought made the air around her feel strangely cold.
Was it too much for her to wish that someone would say things like “I’m glad you woke up” or “Are you hurt anywhere?”
She painfully adjusted her position and looked around again.
There were signs that someone had taken care of her earlier, but that was all.
“They must have all gone to Elizabeth again… ugh.”
Her body still ached in many places.
She sighed deeply and held her forehead.
The memory of Elizabeth crying and screaming flashed clearly in her mind.
“S-sister stole Cedric from me! I liked him first!”
The voice kept echoing in Rafine’s head, making her feel terrible.
“What exactly happened…”
But after a moment, she slowly shook her head.
No matter what had really happened—even if Elizabeth’s words were true—
There was nothing she could do now.
For a moment, she thought that if Cedric and Elizabeth had already been lovers, things might not have ended so disastrously.
But that thought was meaningless.
No.
It was better that she had learned the truth now.
“Besides, now…”
Rafine already had enough trouble taking care of herself. She had no desire to involve herself between them anymore.
Now that she knew their relationship was abnormal, she only needed to break off the engagement with Cedric.
“Ah, the engagement…!”
At that moment, she remembered the Emperor who had attended the tea party.
Her face stiffened.
It had been the opportunity Bayern prepared for her.
And she had completely ruined it.
“How could I… His Majesty came personally.”
The face she had seen just before falling from the tower had definitely been the Emperor wearing a mask.
She felt embarrassed that he had witnessed such an ugly scene.
Even if everyone already knew the truth, there were things people did not want to reveal themselves.
Feeling troubled, Rafine buried her face in the blanket again.
“Hm?”
She suddenly noticed something inside the blanket.
Rafine quickly pulled the blanket aside.
There was a very small rolled piece of parchment.
She hurriedly opened it.
I stopped by because I was worried about you.
Oh, and His Majesty asked me to pass this message to you.
When you are fully recovered, come to the central fountain on Roisha Street. Around noon every day, a red-haired knight sent by His Majesty will be waiting there. Find him.
I pray that you recover soon.
— Bayern
